Maren Morris, Chris Stapleton lead ACM Awards nominations
Morris and Stapleton lead the nominations for this year's Academy of Country Music Awards. The academy announced on Friday that Morris and Stapleton both had six nominations ahead of the April 18 awards show, which will air on CBS from Nashville, Tennessee. (AP Photo)NASHVILLE, Tenn. โ Maren Morris and Chris Stapleton are the leading nominees for the Academy of Country Music Awards, but only Stapleton joined the all-male ballot for the top prize of entertainer of the year. The academy announced on Friday that Morris and Stapleton both had six nominations ahead of the April 18 awards show, which will air on CBS from Nashville, Tennessee. AdMiranda Lambert, who is already the most nominated artist in ACM history, stretched her streak with five nominations.
ACM Awards show returns to Nashville venues in April
FILE - This April 7, 2019 file photo shows host Reba McEntire on stage at the 54th annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas. The Academy of Country Music Awards is coming back to Nashville in April for a second time to hold its awards show at three different venues. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)NASHVILLE, Tenn. โ The Academy of Country Music Awards is coming back to Nashville for a second time to hold its awards show at three different venues. The awards show, which is normally held in Las Vegas in April, used the same Nashville locations when the coronavirus pandemic delayed their show to last September. The show was held in Nashville for the first time last year without a live audience.
Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris to play CMAs
FILE - Eric Church performs at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Ariz. on March 28, 2017. Church will perform at this year's CMA Awards in Nashville. (Photo by Rick Scuteri/Invision/AP, File)NASHVILLE, Tenn. โ Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Luke Combs and more are set to take the stage at the CMA Awards in November. The country music awards show promised that the genreโs biggest stars will be together in one room again for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak started. Lambert, the leading nominee with seven nods including entertainer of the year, will perform โSettling Down" from her album of the year nominated record โWildcard."
Thomas Rhett, Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Combs top CMT noms
NASHVILLE, Tenn. โ Ashley McBryde, Dan + Shay, Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Combs, Sam Hunt and Thomas Rhett top the 2020 CMT Music Awards nominations with three each. In nominations announced Wednesday for the pandemic-delayed show, 14 videos are vying for the top prize of video of the year. The fan-voted show will air on CMT and other networks on Oct. 21 with outdoor performances. The Highwomen, a group made up of Maren Morris, Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby and Amanda Shires, also got their first nomination for group video. Electronic producer and DJ Marshmello also earned a nomination in collaborative video for the crossover hit โOne Thing Right" with Kane Brown.
5 Things to Know for Today
FILE - In this Aug. 19, 2020, photo Attorney General William Barr participates in a roll call with police officers from the Kansas City Police Department in Kansas City, Mo. In a private conference call this week with his U.S. attorneys nationwide, Attorney General William Barr said he wanted prosecutors to be aggressive in charging demonstrators who cause violence. (AP Photo/Mike Balsamo, File)Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:1. QUESTIONS RISE OVER INDIAโS DEATH TOLL Experts say its death toll of only 83,000 in a country of 1.3 billion people is likely an undercount, raising questions about the way it counts fatalities from COVID-19. ACM AWARDS TAKE SURPRISING TWIST Carrie Underwood and Thomas Rhett tie for entertainer of the year, the first time the top prize has been split between two artists.
Country's night to party sobers up amid pandemic
This combination photo shows, from left, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Thomas Rhett and Carrie Underwood, nominees for entertainer of the year at the 55th ACM Awards. (AP Photo)NASHVILLE, Tenn. โ In a pre-pandemic world, the Academy of Country Music Awards advertised itself as country musicโs night to party with gambling, after-parties and a Las Vegas-style attitude. This year the red carpet, crowds and gambling are all r eplaced with COVID-19 tests, temperature checks and face masks. Swift, who makes her first return to the ACM stage in seven years, was the last female artist to win ACM entertainer of the year in 2011. โI certainly believe that sheโs been an entertainer of all entertainers and brought so much grace and class and elegance to country music,โ said Bryan.
ACM Awards brings live performances back to TV amid pandemic
This combination photo shows country singers, from left, Luke Bryan, Kane Brown and Mickey Guyton who will perform at this year's ACM Awards in Nashville. (AP Photo)NASHVILLE, Tenn. โ At the Academy of Country Music Awards on Wednesday, there wonโt be fake fans, canned applause or pre-taped acceptance speeches. After a five-month delay due to the coronavirus pandemic, the awards show wants to bring the live television experience back again. The 55th annual ACM Awards, normally held in April in Las Vegas, were delayed this year and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, for the first time. โI donโt know if itโs gonna look like an NFL Draft night when we hand out the awards,โ Urban said laughing.
Kane Brown pays tribute to late drummer Kenny Dixon
Honoree Kane Brown accepts an award onstage during the 2019 CMT Artist of the Year at Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Oct. 16, 2019 in Nashville. (CNN) - Country star Kane Brown choked back tears as he honored his late drummer, Kenny Dixon, as he accepted an award at the CMT Artists of the Year awards show just four days after Dixon's death. "I want to dedicate this to my drummer Kenny," Brown. Country singer Chris Young had presented Brown with the award and also had mentioned Dixon's tragic death. Brown also paid tribute to Dixon with an Instagram message on Sunday.